INTRODUCTION

Looking backward

Before examining music of the 20th century, it is useful to take a look at the prevailing style in Western music
that led us into it: the Common Practice Period (1600-1900). The five basic elements that constitute the common practice:

Tonality:

The essential organization is around a single pitch, the tonic, which provides a home base to the ear. All other
pitches work to establish the pre-eminence of tonic. Furthermore, an organization of phrases (generally made up of
4, 8, or 16 measures) expand the establishment of tonic; all phrases end with a cadence which confirms this sense of tonic.

Vocabulary:

The essential vocabulary is a diatonic pattern of seven stepwise pitches called major and minor scales. Chromatic
pitches, the remaining five, can be used, but only to enhance the diatonic ones.

Texture:

The essential texture is created with counterpoint, which is two or more simultaneous individual and independent
lines, each of which confirms the pre-eminence of tonic and utilizes the vocabulary of a major or minor scale.

Sonorities:

The essential sonority (chord) is consonant and is a group of three notes (a triad) arranged in thirds (tertian).
Dissonance is used, which could be a group of four notes arranged in thirds (a tertian tetrad) or non-chordal
embellishments (passing and neighboring tones, suspensions, and pedals, among others). All dissonances are required to resolve.

Time organization:

The essential time organization is based on a consistent and unchanging beat. These beats organize into 2, 3, or 4
essential pulses per measure, with the first beat always the strongest. Each beat can sub-divide into two parts
(simple meters) or three parts (compound meters).

This was the state of affairs which set up the events of the 20th century.

At a glance

It is the basic premise of this unit that when a composer either generally modifies or completely changes more
than one of these five elements, a new music (or UNcommon practice) is created.

Each chapter will present a small table indicating how the style described in that chapter relates to the five
elements of the Common Practice Period. It is not scientific, but it will show some of the changes that were
made in the 20th century.

This style

Tonality

Vocabulary

Texture

Sonority

Time

basically maintains:

generally modifies:

completely changes:

The demise of the macrocosm

The Common Practice Period offered a unified view of music (at least for Europe). The diversity of European
cultures and languages required a common language for musical communication. This common language, or common
practice, formed a MACROCOSM, or "large universe", to which composers subscribed for three centuries. At the
end of the 19th century, however, the tremendous growth of science and technology (especially as seen in
communications) made Western civilization a much smaller place, and the need for a common musical language was not as crucial.

There were, of course, many Romantic composers who lived well into the 20th century, and although they made
some concessions to the new century, they still rightfully belong to the Common Practice Period. Among them are

The birth of the microcosms

Music of the 20th century is unique in the flow of Western history in its pluralism. Composers began to
explore a more personal and individual approach to musical creation, forming their own MICROCOSMS, or
"small universes". No longer bound to the rules formed by one musical approach, they customized sound
to suit their own views and preferences.

There were three important microcosms near the turn of the century: Impressionism, Primitivism, and
Expressionism. Impressionism was a reaction, probably the greatest in music history, to the state of music
at the end of the 19th century. Expressionism followed the path of the Common Practice Period, but mutated
each of the five basic elements stated above; it led to Serialism and Total Serialism. Primitivism
positioned itself someplace between Impressionism and Expressionism, and led eventually to Neo-classicism and
Neo-romanticism. Reactions to these styles created Indeterminism, Texturalism, and Minimalism. New
technology created Electronicism. Popular music, as in Jazz, added valuable material to the musical
palette. As the century progressed, each of these styles branched out and criss-crossed.

The truth, the whole truth, and nothing but...

The truth of the 20th century is complex. This branching also included many cross-overs and cross-influences
of style. The separation of these styles into discrete units is artificial; some composers are simply
impossible to categorize neatly. At the end of the century, it was a great tangled, wonderful web of
experimentation and techniques.

It is important to understand that few, if any, composers used any one of these microcosms in their
total creative output. In the best spirit of the 20th century, they would pick and choose stylistic
traits, and change allegiance throughout their careers, considering only those items which represented
their vision at the time of composition. For this reason, it is likely that the past century will be
known as the era of Eclecticism.

This text does not propose to cover all the microcosms of the 20th century, but rather, to highlight
some of the more influential ones. It will present some of the unique, typical, and characteristic
elements of each influential style. The analysis projects are to be done in class, with particular
attention paid as to how they illustrate these elements. The purpose of the composition projects is
for the student to synthesize their observations about each style into sound, and to gain a greater
appreciation of the compositional process. These projects are a vital part to understanding 20th
century music, and are second only to listening to repertoire.

Two anthologies contain many of the analysis assignments and suggested listening [their location in
the anthology is indicated in brackets]: